阅读理解 Questions 40-50 In the nineteenth century, oceanography benefited from the new desire to study phenomena on a global scale. Many scientists collected information on the chemical composition, temperature, and pressure of the ocean at various depths and in different regions. The difficulty of gathering information about the ocean depths was immense. At first it was believed that the temperatures in the depths never fell below 4 degrees Celsius, until it was shown that the figures were distorted by the effect of pressures on the thermometers. There was intensive study of tides and ocean currents, and a number of physicists examined the forces responsible for the movements of the water. For example, James Rennell provided the first accurate map of the currents in the Atlantic Ocean, and the United States Coast Survey made extensive studies of the Gulf Stream. The zoologist Edward Forbes argued that no life existed below a depth of 300 fathoms (about 600 meters), a view widely accepted until disproved by the voyage of the British research vessel HMS Challenger (1872-1876). The HMS Challenger expedition provided valuable information about the seabed, including the discovery of manganese nodules that are now being seen as a potentially valuable source of minerals. The first detailed map of the seabed was provided for the Atlantic by the American geographer Matthew F. Maury. He devised new techniques for measuring ocean depths, and his work proved of great value in laying the first transatlantic telegraph cables. He also studied global wind patterns and was able to provide sailors with guides that significantly reduced the time taken on many routes. Some oceanographers believed that the winds were responsible for producing ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream, but Msury disagreed. He argued that they wrer produced by changes in the density of seawater due to temperature, which set up systems of movement between warm and cool regions of the world. Maury believed that the circulation of a worm current would produce ice-free sea around the North Pole, a claim not disproved until Fridtjof Nansen allowed his vessel The Fram to be carried to within a few degrees of the pole in the years 1893-1896.

单选题 What does the passage mainly discuss?

单选题 According to the passage, what led to advances in the study of oceans?

单选题 The word “accurate” in line 9 is closest in meaning to

单选题 According to the passage, Edward Forbes held which of the following opinions?

单选题 The word “expedition” in line 13 is closest in meaning to

单选题 The word “ devised” in line 17 is closest in meaning to

单选题 According to the passage, which of the following is true of the discoveries of the HMS Challenger?

单选题 The word “they” in line 22 refers to

单选题 According to the passage, which of the following is true about Matthew F. Maury?

单选题 The passage suggests which of the following about the visit of the Fram to the North Pole?

单选题 What did the voyages of HMS Challenger (line13) and The Fram (line 26) have in common?